OH · February 24, 2022
Police Call Off the Chase, Find Her Car in a Burning House
A pregnant woman flags down help on Columbus's southeast side, bleeding from the face, telling the call-taker that the father of her child beat her and drove off in her car - and that he has a weapon. This police bodycam footage follows what happened after a supervisor called off the pursuit at her own request: minutes later, a burning house on Penfield Road, her car wedged inside it, and no driver anywhere in sight.
Reconstructed timeline
Times from synchronized camera clocks and dispatch records.
1:53 AM
911 call: domestic assault, weapon claimed, vehicle stolen
Columbus PD receives a call of a visibly pregnant female screaming for police at Scottwood Rd/Barnett Rd, bleeding from the face; caller reports a male beat her and stole her car (silver sedan), and that the male has a weapon.
1:55 AM
Officer Choy makes contact with the victim
Officer Choy exits his cruiser and approaches Tamitria Baldwin on the residential sidewalk, beginning the domestic-dispute inquiry.
1:56 AM
Vehicle description aired: silver Ford Taurus, plate JNV5161
Officers air the suspect vehicle's description and plate over the radio, last seen westbound on Deshler.
1:57 AM
Officers spot the reported vehicle and signal a stop
A second unit spots a vehicle matching the description and signals to pull it over.
1:58 AM
Driver flees; brief pursuit begins
Officers attempt to pull the Taurus over at a stop sign; the driver takes off southbound on Barnett, then westbound on Penfield, running a stop sign hard enough to lift the vehicle's wheels. Two marked cruisers (Cruiser 1 and Cruiser 2) briefly follow with lights and sirens.
1:58 AM
Victim tells Officer Choy she does not want it pursued
Baldwin tells Officer Choy the altercation - being grabbed by the neck - was not serious physical harm and she does not want anything done about it.
1:59 AM
Supervisor terminates the pursuit
A supervisor (radio designation S13) declares the pursuit not authorized; officers turn off lights and sirens and lose sight of the vehicle near James Rd.
2:01 AM
Ball's vehicle crashes into two homes and catches fire
Still fleeing, Ball's Ford Taurus loses control navigating a bend on Penfield Rd, jumps the curb, strikes a fire hydrant, two houses, and three parked vehicles. Ball is ejected. The crash itself was not captured on any camera. Due to the severity of impact, the vehicle and one house catch fire.
2:05 AM
Officers arrive to find the house and vehicle on fire
Officers checking the area, alerted by a 911 call that a vehicle struck a resident's house and was on fire, arrive at 1783 Penfield Rd to find the crash scene and structure fire.
2:07 AM
Officers discover Ball trapped under the wreckage
Realizing the driver is not in the vehicle, officers search the yard and find Ball trapped underneath the wreckage next to the burning structure.
2:09 AM
Officers pull Ball free as flames engulf the wreckage
Officers physically drag Ball out from under the vehicle and clear of the burning wreck as flames spread to the adjacent garage; Columbus Fire moves in to render aid.
2:11 AM
Columbus Fire loads Ball for transport
Firefighters render medical aid on the porch/lawn - a responding officer later states medics found a pulse - then load Ball onto a gurney for transport.
2:13 AM
Ambulance radios Ball critical en route to Grant
Medic unit MED 21 radios that Ball is critical, transporting to Grant Medical Center.
2:26 AM
Officers tape off the crash site as a crime scene
Officers begin putting up crime-scene tape and moving bystanders back from the scene.
2:41 AM
Jajuan Ball pronounced dead
Ball is pronounced deceased at Grant Medical Center.
Scene maps
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